


Broken

by YumeArashi



Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: F/M, Grief/Mourning, Minor Character Death, Rape/Non-con References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-22
Updated: 2013-01-22
Packaged: 2017-11-26 11:08:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/649883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YumeArashi/pseuds/YumeArashi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Too much grief can break even the strongest heart, and no one knows this like Maria Auditore</p>
            </blockquote>





	Broken

**Author's Note:**

> Written prior to AC: Brotherhood, canon-accurate only up to Assassin's Creed 2.

There was a part of Maria Auditore that had not been surprised on the day her family was destroyed.

Maria had been just sixteen when she learned what Giovanni really was - he had told her one evening in a moonlit garden, finishing with, “and if you are not too disgusted, then perhaps you would be willing to put up with me for the rest of our lives?”

The unorthodox proposal had been met with a raised eyebrow and an arch reply.  “If you are asking me what I think you are, then get down on one knee and do it right.”

Still, her answer had never really been in doubt.  From their first meeting, she’d been fascinated with Giovanni’s passion, his humor, and his unswerving dedication to doing what he believed was right.

As the years had passed and their family had grown, what they shared had changed, maturing into a quieter but unshakable love and loyalty.  Maria had never worried when Giovanni left on missions - she had absolute faith in both his abilities and in his love of the family waiting for him to come home.

Still, she had never been able to deny the little voice whispering in the back of her mind, asking how long Giovanni could keep up this double life, reminding her that assassins as a rule did not live to a ripe old age.  Instead of blindly refuting the possibility, she chose to take each day with him as a gift, all the more precious for the future’s uncertainty.

Maria had expected someone to come for him one day, if he was not killed in outright battle.But she had not expected this. 

She had not expected the betrayal of a family friend whom Giovanni had trusted nearly as much as his own brother.  She had not expected her sons to be taken as well - even if they thought Federico had not been innocent of his father’s work, Petruccio was a mere child!  She had not expected the lecherous guards to come at her daughter once the men of the family had been taken away.

Maria had saved Claudia’s virtue, but at a terrible price.  It was as much of her family as she had been able to save.

Now, at Monteriggioni, she was largely left alone.  Ezio had taken up his father’s mantle and sought vengeance for their loss.  Claudia managed the villa and stayed away, uncomfortable with her mother’s silence.  Maria knew that she should be strong for her remaining children, but she could not bring herself to even try.

She had lost too much already.


End file.
